Poh Si Teng Talks Emptying Her Bank Account to Direct ‘American Doctor’: “A Year Into the Gaza #Genocide, I Didn’t Have Any More Words”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/poh-si-teng-american-doctor-documentary-cph-dox-film-gaza-1236535977/
from #HollywoodReporter
March 17, 2026
Poh Si Teng and her #documentary American Doctor, her feature directorial debut about #doctors working amid the #war in #Gaza, were in focus at the industry conference of the Copenhagen International Documentary #Film Festival.
Asked about her journey to taking on the war in Gaza from a humanitarian perspective in American Doctor, the filmmaker said: “A year into the genocide, I didn’t have any more words. I was very angry. And then came despair. I didn’t know what to do with those emotions.” So she “needed to find something else,” leading her to quit her job and empty her bank account of around $150,000.
Teng found Dr. Mark Perlmutter and his colleagues Dr. Thaer Ahmad and Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, providing emergency care in Gaza, inspiring.

Poh Si Teng Talks Emptying Her Bank Account to Direct ‘American Doctor’: “A Year Into the Gaza Genocide, I Didn’t Have Any More Words”
The filmmaker spoke during a morning session at the Copenhagen documentary festival's CPH:Conference about moving from producing to directing and her hopes for the project.







